"Big Woman"

We often tell Wesley that he gets the "big boy (blank).” Sometimes we say, “You get to use the big boy cup” or “you get to sit in the big boy seat.” Sometimes we say, “You are such a big boy” when we praise him.

Before having kids, I thought all this “big boy” stuff was a bit unnecessary and that it emphasized the need to grow up quickly but now I find myself saying these things all the time.

I have discovered one unexpected consequence of us saying “big boy”. Wesley now sees me as a “big woman.” If he wants to sit in my chair at the kitchen table he says, “I want big woman chair.” If he wants to use adult toothpaste instead of the safe-to-swallow paste he says, “I want big woman toothpaste.”

At least someone sees me as “big”. I know maybe ten other adults who are shorter than me. When Wesley is a teenager I am sure he won’t say, “I want short woman chair” but he will probably find another way to tease me about being vertically challenged.